Railroad car truck



Feb. 26, 1952 HAYNES 2,587,315

RAILROAD CAR TRUCK Filed March 15, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. Y S

RAILROAD CAR TRUCK 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 15, 1945 Jvzes Z.

Feb. 26, 1952 J. L. HAYNES RAILROAD CAR TRUCK Filed March 15, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 p J 32 Ju /2727' '16 7 30 29 ,Zwmlfiggnas /6 4 aZZis Patented Feb. 26, 1952 UNITED STATES ram orsics 2 Claims.

This invention relates to railroad car trucks in general and particularly though not exclusively to freight car trucks. j

Passenger car trucks are generally provided with multiple sets of springs to provide the necessary cushioning effect during travel and to overcome sudden vertical jars. Moreover, the load in passenger carsis relatively light and, therefore, there is very little difference in the spring deflection between an unloaded and a loaded passenger car. Freight cars, however; have a considerable difierentiation between the loaded and the unloaded condition inasmuch as a normal so-called 50 ton freight car unloaded would weigh about 60,000 pounds while loaded it would weigh about 160,000 pounds. This differentiation in load causes a considerable deflection in the springs of the trucks. The standards required by certain A. A. R. interchange rules provide that the horizontal center line of the coupling should not vary vertically more than 3 inches whereby it is necessary for the couplings to interlock with loaded and unloaded cars and still maintain the proper bearing surface between the couplings. The present spring suspension on freight cars does not provide for the proper riding qualities at high speeds and, therefore, the lading is subject to considerable jarring and perhaps shifting. It is, therefore, de-

sirable that the riding qualities of freight cars be enhanced considerably not only for the purpose of preventing rapid deterioration to the cars and trucks themselves, because of the jars which the cars are subjected to during normal service but also to prevent damage to the lading, particularly at high speeds. of passenger car trucks of the conventional high speed type for freight car service is not only impossible, in that it will prevent the proper maintenance of standards with respect to the Substitution couplings caused by different truck heights, but

it is also impractical because passenger car trucks are exceedingly expensive as compared with freight car trucks. It is desirable that freight car trucks be made as smooth riding as possible and at the same time retain the present accessories to freight car trucks and maintain the conventional sizes, limits, etc. on freight car trucks as presently employed. It is, therefore, the primary object of the present invention to provide a freight car truck with new and novel :means, whereby to maintain the present standards with respect to limiting dimensions, brake rigging and other accessories, without changing the overall sizes and limits as well as to make a car applicable for light and heavy loads and still maintain proper easy riding.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a freight car truck with new and improved spring means whereby the vertical oscillation of the load springs will be snubbed or cushioned, in effect similar to the function provided by shock absorbers or snubbers on automobiles.

the provision of means for eifecting spring action in opposite directions whereby the deflection of the spring in one direction will be counteracted by the spring action of another spring so as to snub or dampen the rebound when the car is traveling over rough tracks or road beds. Still another object of the invention consists in providing arailroad car truck having a pluralityof operatively supporting helical springs of the conventional type in cooperation with an involute spring which is adapted to be preloaded so as to cause a certain amount of deflection of the helical springs whereby the deflection of the springs under load' and during travel Will be snubbed or dampened by the involute spring.

Still another object of the invention is to prothe bolster is carried, the springs being preloaded by additional spring means acting in compression and to compress to a predetermined extent the conventional helical springs.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of new and improved means of railroad car trucks to provide a resilient compression against the springs whereby the springs are preloaded by resilient compression.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a freight car truck having side frames and bolster extending therebetween wherein rocking elements for the boster have contacting surfaces with the side frames formed on a special curve whereby the bolster, being centered by the force of gravity, will operate to produce a horizontal inwardly acting transverse force at each rocking element.

Numerous other objects and advantages will be apparent throughout the progress of the specification.

The accompanying drawings illustrate certain selected embodiments of the invention and the views therein are as follows:

Fig. 1 is a detail plan section showing one form O a railroad car truck and embodying the in- A further object of the invention resides in vention, certain parts being broken away for the sake of clearness;

Fig. 2 is a detail side elevational view of the truck shown in Fig. 1 with certain parts broken away for the sake of clearness;

Fig. 3 is a detail vertical sectional view on the line 33 of Figs. 1 and 4, certain parts being omitted for the sake of clearness;

Fig. 4 is a detail plan section on the line 4-4 of Figs. 2 and 3;

Fig. 5 is a detail vertical sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4 but showing the helical springs in relief; and

Fig. 6 is a detail vertical sectional view with springs in relief showing a similar spring arrangement to that used in Fig. 5 but to be applied without the use of a lateral rocking or swing motion design.

The particular railroad car truck construction herein shown for the purpose of illustrating the invention comprises a car truck I having oppositely disposed side frames 2 and 3. The side frames 2 and 3 each comprises a longitudinally forward to rearwardly extending top member 4, a bottom member 5, and pedestals 6, 3. The pedestals 6, B are operatively connected together by means of the top member 4 and by integral converging inclined members 1, i. Integral vertical connecting members 8, 8 connect the converging parts i and the upper member 4. -The pedestals E, 5 are each provided with a pedestal opening 9 which receive the spring loaded journal boxes ll! protruding outwardly from the wheels I! which are rigidly mounted on axles 12. The part 5 of each of the frames comprises a platform I 3 upon which springs M of the conventional helical type are supported. The springs [4 may be mounted upon the platform [3 in the usual conventional manner and they may be mounted on a rocker element l5 of the type disclosed in apnlicants copending application Serial Number 582,845, filed concurrently herewith now U. S. Patent No. 2.527.008, dated October 24, 1950.

The rocker element may comprise a lower rocker member I6 which is mounted on top of the platform [3. The lower surface of the member I6 may be provided with a recess or groove formation H to receive a rib formation l8 on the upper side of the platform I3 whereby the rocker may have free arcuate or cam-like movement with respect to its base or support I3, the parts always being maintained in proper rela tive position by engagement between the rib portion 18 with the groove portion H. The rocker element [5 also includes an upper member l9 which. is provided with a longitudinally extending rib-like extension 20 operatively engaging a groove 2i formed on the underside of a projecting element 22 secured to the underside of the bolster means 23.

The bolster means 23 is used in both the generic and the specific sense in that it includes the bolster per se and all the connections or parts thereof which may be mterposed between the bolster itself and the springs, such as a spring plate, or the member IS. The bolster means 23 may be directly supported on the springs, or it may be remotely supported on the springs, such as by interposing a spring plate, the means l9, or any additional members interposed whereby the load carried by the bolster will be eventually transmitted to the springs.

The springs [4 may be arranged between the members I6 and I9 as clearly shown in Fig. 5. They may .rest upon the bottom platform being mounted between plate members 24 and 25 and directly receiving the bolster 23, as clearly shown in Fig. 6. The springs i may be relatively long but of the general type referred to in a 50 ton freight car as the class D type of spring for a 5 and inch by 10 inch truck for a car of 50 ton capacity. However, the springs it used alone would provide for too much vertical movement when operated at high speeds or under widely varying loads. It is desirable, therefore, that a relatively long spring be used but that the spring be partly compressed or preloaded and also that there be resilient means operating to produce a counteraction so as to effect a preload on the springs when gravity load imposed by the car weight, etc. is minimum.

The means for preloading the springs i i may comprise involute spring members 25 which are arranged within the spring assembly units as clearly shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. The involute spring construction 26 may comprise a cylinder 21 securely attached to lower member it or 25, in which there is mounted a spirally coiled spring 28, the various coils of the spring 28 extending out somewhat in conical or stepped fashion as indicated at 29 in Fig. 5. The innermost coil of the spring 28 of the member 26 contacts with an adjusting member 3| mounted within the cylinder 21, there being wings or protuberances 32 on the member 3|, which wings extend through cut cuts '33 provided in the cylinder wall to keep the member M from turning relative to the cylinder 21 when the spring 28 is being compressed by tightening. The member 3! may be provided with a threaded sleeve portion 34 to-threadedly receive the end of a longitudinally extending bar 35.

The bar 35 is concentrically positioned with respect to the spring 28 and extends upwardly through either the plate I9, Fig. 5, or the plate 24, Fig. 6, whichever construction is employed. The upper end of the rod or bar 35 has fixed thereto a head 33 so that the bar 35 may be IO-f tated in a cooperating recess 3'? formed in the member l9, Fig. 5, or the top plate 24, Fig. 6. It is desirable that the head 3'5 be fixed to the bar 35 and this construction may be accomplishedby having the upper end of the bar 35 threaded with the head member 36 threadedly connected thereto and then secured in rigid position by peaning over the top of the bar 35 as indicated at 38 whereby there will be no relative rotation be tween the rod 35 and the head as but, instead, the member 33 will rotate along with the bar 35 when the bar is rotated. A protuberance 39 may beformed on the rod or bar 35 as shown so that a tool may be inserted in the hole Ml in the pro tuberance 39 to effect rotative adjustment of the rod 35 so as to preload the spring 23. The rotation of the rod 35 will cause the adjusting member 3| to be raised when the rod is rotated in a predetermined direction so as to preload the spring 28. The preloading of the spring 28 causes'the top member is or 24 to be drawn toward the member It or 25, respectively, thereby also preloading the springs M.

The construction indicated, and as more clearly shown in Fig. l, comprises four helical springs 14 and two involute springs 28. The preloading of the springs l4 and spring members 26 is for the purpose of providing an initial load on the springs I4 which will correspond with the pressure that would be exerted by a fraction of the full load capacity of the car. When load is added to the car so as to produce added pressure on the springs l4, further'deflectionor compression will shorten the distance between the upper and lower ends of the springs I 4, thereby allowing the springs 28 to lengthen which will cause them to exert a diminished downward force upon the members [9 and 24. In this way, when the car is fully loaded, the total deflection of springs M will have reached a point so that no appreciable extra load is imposed by spring members 26 because they will have been expanded to their free length. The resulting operation of this spring arrangement will be such that when a lightly loaded or empty car traveling at high speed encounters a rough section of track, the tendency for the. Springs to deflect and then rebound excessively is snubbed or retarded by the action of the springs 26 since the rebound or vertical upward movement resulting from a shock load from rough track tends to apply extra deflection to springs 26 thereby increasing the downward force which they exert upon springs it so as to prevent the tendency for springs M to expand eX- cessively and to accentuate the vertical movement of the mass of the car, bolsters, etc. which are carried upon the springs.

The normal function of the springs M is for the purpose of cushioning the load to make soft riding, and, therefore, they are normally compressed except when on the rebound. The springs 28, however, are adapted to exert an outward force and, inasmuch as the coils of the involute spring members 28 are frictionally held together throughout their entire contacting length with respect to the adjacent coiled parts of the spring, a considerable friction is created. Thus, during the rebound of the springs it, there will occur a frictional drag or snubbing or shock-absorbing effect to be had by the springs 28 to snub or cushion the rebound. A similar situation is pres ent even though the car is fully loaded. However, the springs M will be more greatly compressed and by this compression the involute springs will tend to expand, thereby tending to remove the preload from springs I4 when the car is at rest. When the fully loaded car operates over irregular track at sufiiciently high speed to tend to produce severe vertical shocks, the said shocks tend to produce corresponding recoil which will be dampened by the snubbing effect because of the internal friction of the coils 28 which absorb some of the kinetic energy from the vertically oscillating masses and thus will have the beneficial effect of dampening the vibration and amplitude of movement of springs I 4, thereby producing less jarring effect upon the lading in the car as well as the mechanical parts of the truck and car itself.

The size and number of springs i4 and 263 and the preloading of the springs can be varied to suit conditions, depending on the car size, weight and load, and it may be necessary to increase or decrease the number of springs or to substitute additional springs 25 in relation to the load springs l4. Springs of difierent capactiy may also be employed and the preloading is also adapted to be varied to suit the purposes intended so as to provide the proper preload and obtain the desired snubbing or shock-absorbing efiect. Also, other springs, such as coil springs, may be substituted for the involute springs with means being provided for effecting the preloaded condition described with respect to the springs l4 and 26.

The contacting surfaces of the rocking elements with the side frames are formed on a special curve, and the bolster, being centered by 8 the force of gravity, operates to produce a horizont'al inwardly acting transverse force at each rocking element.

If desired, the truck herein described may be provided with means for maintaining the side frames in proper parallelism by employing the means disclosed and claimed in applicant's copending application Serial Number-577,191, filed February 10, 1945, now U. S. Patent No. 2,477,517, dated July 26, 1949. The said means for maintaining the frames 2 and 3 in proper parellelism comprises a pair of oppositely disposed members 4! 4|. One end of a member M is rigidly secured by welding or otherwise to a side frame as indicated at 42. The other end may be provided with a cylindrical bearing 43 which engages an extending sleeve supported in a boss or other suitable member 44 rigidly or integrally secured to the opposite frame.

The invention provides new and improved means for effecting a snubbing action during rebound caused by the deflection of the springs while the car is traveling over rough rails. The car truck, which is the subject matter of this invention, is adapted to be limited to standard conventional overall sizes and limits and employs the usual conventional accessories such as brake rigging and the like.

The spring means is adapted to efiect smooth and easy riding of the carand thereby protect the lading as well as to overcome excess deterioration of the car in use. The use of helical load springs in'addition to resilient means for preloading the springs overcomes deficiencies inherent in conventional freight car truck construction and the resilient means may comprise involute spring structures as defined for causing the preloading of the helical springs. The invention is also applicable for use in connection with trucks embodying the rocker construction as disclosed in the aforesaid copending application, Serial No. 582,845, now U. S. Patent No. 2,527,008, dated October 24, 1950. Also, the invention of the present application is applicable to means for maintaining the opposite truck frames in proper parallelism by the use of the construction disclosed in the aforesaid copending application, Serial No. 577,191, now U. S. Patent No. 2,477,517, dated July 26, 1949. The preloading spring arrangement is adaptable to be used either alone or in combination with either or both of the aforesaid inventions described in the aforesaid applications.

Changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the arts without de ng from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof, and the right is hereby reserved to make all such changes as fairly fall within the scope of the following claims.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. In a freight car truck embodying spaced side frames and a bolster, rocking elements carried by the side frames for supporting the bolster, said elements comprising vertically spaced opposed members, a plurality of helical springs disposed between said members, an involute spring disposed between said members, means connected to the lower one of said vertically spaced members to prevent upward movement of the upper end of said involute spring, a vertically movable support for said involute spring at the lower end thereof, movable connecting means between said support and the upper one of said vertically spaced members, said connecting means being movable to simultaneously raise said support for placing said involute spring under compression and to lower the upper one of said vertically spaced members for placing said helical springs under compression, said involute spring comprising a spiral coil having contacting surfaces thereby creating a friction between those contacting surfaces,whereby the involute spring will snub excess vertical spring action of said helical springs and will retard upward movement of the upper one of said vertically spaced members, the contacting surfaces of the rocking elements with the side frames being curved, and the said bolster being centered by the force of gravity, operating to produce a horizontal inwardly acting transverse force at each rocking element.

2. In a freight cartruck embodying spaced side frames and a bolster, rocking elements carried by the side frames for supporting the bolster, said elements comprising vertically spaced opposed members, a plurality of helical springs disposed between said members, an involute spring between said members, means connected to the lower one of said vertically spaced members to prevent upward movement of the upper end of said involute spring, a vertically movable support for said involute spring at the lower end thereof, a vertical rod located within said involute spring, the lower end of said rod threadedly engaging a threaded opening in said support and the upper end of said rod passing through an opening in the upper one of said vertically spaced members, means on the upper end of said rod adapted to bear downwardly on the upper one of said vertically spaced members, whereby rotation of saidrod in one direction will raise said movable support to place said involute spring under compression and will lower the upper one of said spaced members to place said helical springs under compression, said involute spring embodying a spiral coil having contacting surfaces thereby creating a friction between said such contacting surfaces, whereby the involute spring will snub excess vertical spring action of the helical springs and will retard upward movement of the upper one of said vertically spaced members, said rod being adjustable for increasing or decreasing the compression of the involute spring, the contacting surfaces of the rocking elements with the side frames being curved, and the said bolster being centered by the force of gravity, operating to produce a horizontal inwardly acting transverse force at each rocking element.

JAMES L. HAYNES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 450,627 Krehbiel Apr. 21, 1891 466,349 Hubbard Jan. 5, 1892 594,559 Richards Nov. 30, 1897 825,255 Whitman July 3, 1906 932,489 Murrey Aug. 31, 1909 1,905,252 Symington Apr. 25, 1933 1,976,937 Haseltine Oct. 16, 1934 2,015,025 Barrows Sept. 17, 1935 2,079,985 Busch May 11, 1937 2,105,651 Holland Jan. 18, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 163,007 Great Britain Feb. 9, 1922 

